The Hateful Eight (2015) * *

Directed by:  Quentin Tarantino

Starring:   Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Channing Tatum, Bruce Dern, Demian Bechir, James Parks, Walton Goggins

Tarantino's latest film, The Hateful Eight, was able to hold my interest for a while, but soon I despaired as I realized he was simply trying to push the envelope again.     How much blood, body parts being shot off, racism, and sheer ugliness can we tolerate before we cry uncle?    This stuff is very tiresome and wearying.     I understand from the title that we are not in for a movie involving pleasant people, but where is the payoff to reward us for hanging in there for almost three hours?     This is a film where M. Night Shyamalan should have been flown in to provide a last-minute plot swerve.     I am not against violence in movies per se, but violence for the sake of excessive violence is not my idea of entertainment.   

The Hateful Eight opens in snowbound, freezing, and desolate Wyoming circa 1880.    A stagecoach is on the way to Red Rock, Wyoming.    A man named Marquis Warren (Jackson) stands in front of three dead bodies and stops the stagecoach in hopes of hitching a ride to town.     The stagecoach traveler is "Hangman" John Ruth (Russell), who is handcuffed to a prisoner named Daisy Domergue (Leigh) being taken to Red Rock to stand trial for murder.    Ruth and Warren met previously months before so they at least somewhat trust each other as they make their way to Red Rock.    A fast-approaching blizzard derails their plans and they (along with the new town sheriff they also pick up along the way) are forced to spend at least a night in Minnie's Haberdashery in the middle of nowhere.

The first half-hour contains plenty of dialogue (a Tarantino standard), but sets up what seems to be an interesting premise.     The haberdashery is populated by a dutiful Mexican helper named Bob (Bechir), a former Confederate general (Dern), a British hangman (Roth), and a loner named Joe Gage (Madsen).     Ruth believes someone, or even many, are in cahoots to free Daisy from justice, so he takes precautions to limit risks.     Is he paranoid?    Maybe, but he has a $10,000 bounty he wants to cash in for Daisy and does not want to lose it.    

Alliances are formed and then unformed as Ruth attempts to find out which (if any) of the guests are hiding something.     Warren has the same suspicions, since he and Ruth are familiar with the haberdashery owners who are conspicuously nowhere to be found.     Then, Warren tells the general a tale of how he forced his son to perform fellatio on him before killing him, people get shot, and the ugly business begins.     This includes poisoning of a pot of coffee which causes those who consume it to vomit gallons of blood. 

Any early intrigue quickly dissipates when the unfortunate souls who drink the poisoned coffee puke up blood and shootings begin.    Blood is everywhere, body parts including arms and testicles are shot off, and The Hateful Eight becomes a depressing mess.    My heart sank when I realize Tarantino was once again showcasing violence to the extreme.     Someone isn't just shot in the head, his/her face is blown off.     We see the blood gush and Tarantino lovingly documents it.    The title credit suggests an homage to the bloodier 1960's spaghetti westerns, but even they had their limits.     These films have been copied, borrowed from, parodied, and are now paid homage to by QT.    Can't we leave these films buried in the past where they belong?

Tarantino's dialogue contains excessive N-words and swear words of the 4 and 12-letter variety.    It is a welcome respite when a line or two does not contain these words.     They have lost their dramatic impact.    Did 1870's outlaws speak like 1970's mobsters one would find in a Scorsese film?     I pity Samuel L. Jackson, who must have very thick skin to be able to put up with someone calling him the n-word every minute.     Jackson is a QT veteran and handles things with smarts and ferocity as only he can.     He and Russell are the closest things to heroes in the film, which upon retrospect is sort of sad.   

The person who receives the worst physical abuse is Daisy.    By my count, she is punched in the face at least 20 times, elbowed in the nose, has blood and guts spurted all over her face and hair courtesy of a head being blown off in front of her, and does not even bother to wipe off her face which has become a crimson mask.     In her first onscreen appearance, she already sports a black eye.   Daisy is not the kindest soul.    She is as mean and nasty as the rest, but the abusive treatment of her is excessive.     I feel sorry for her even if I am not supposed to.     There is also juggling with the film's timeline so we see the entire story.     A built-in prequel if you will, but this contains no surprises.     Tarantino may have created a monster with this timeline thingy.    Many directors and writers have done it to death in their films, so Tarantino's method is old hat by now.   

I am beginning to wonder why I am even giving the film two stars.    I think because the opening scenes were strong and set up a premise that never delivered.     The actors are skilled and deserve credit for surviving the onslaught of violence and vicious dialogue.     The scenes flow mostly like this, "Talk, n-word, f-bomb, mf-bomb, someone is shot, repeat. "    Why does Tarantino think we want to be subjected to this endless cycle?    For nearly three hours?      I think QT is a writer/director who has been given passes based on his reputation as a critical darling.    Of the eight he has made, I believe Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Volume 2, and Inglourious Basterds are very good films.     The rest simply do not live up to the advanced billing.     It is time for him to move on and try different material.     How about a romantic comedy?    Or simply a comedy?    One in which no one dies?    Can Tarantino even stretch himself that far anymore?     I would like to see him try.